From: les@jmdl.com (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2000 #361 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: les@jmdl.com Errors-To: les@jmdl.com Precedence: bulk Archives: http://www.smoe.org/lists/onlyjoni Websites: http://www.jmdl.com http://www.jonimitchell.com Unsubscribe: mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe onlyJMDL Digest Saturday, September 9 2000 Volume 2000 : Number 361 The 'Official' Joni Mitchell Homepage, created by Wally Breese, can be found at http://www.jonimitchell.com. It contains the latest news, a detailed bio, Original Interviews, essays, lyrics and much much more. --- The JMDL website can be found at http://www.jmdl.com and contains interviews, articles, the member gallery, archives, and much more. --- Ashara has set up a "Wally Breese Memorial Fund" with all donations going directly towards the upkeep of the website. Wally kept the website going with his own funds. it is now up to US to help Jim continue. If you would like to donate to this fund, please make all checks payable to: Jim Johanson and send them to: Ashara Stansfield P.O. Box 215 Topsfield, MA. 01983 USA ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Re: [Fwd: You Put Me Thru Hell] [RandyRemote ] Subject: Joni dines with her sisters ["Kate Bennett" ] Re: Joni, Burning Man, Nietszche, the male Holly Near [Siresorrow@aol.com] Re: Nitszche [IVPAUL42@aol.com] Re: Joni dines with her sisters [B Merrill ] New England Jonifest, Pt. 1 [JRMCo1@aol.com] Re: New England Jonifest, Pt. 1 (corrected) [JRMCo1@aol.com] Collected Jonifest thoughts ["Nikki Johnson" ] part 2 ["Nikki Johnson" ] Thoughts on Jonifest ["Marilyn Huggins" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2000 00:03:11 -0700 From: RandyRemote Subject: Re: [Fwd: You Put Me Thru Hell] IVPAUL42@aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 9/6/00 4:46:51 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > guitarzan@saber.net writes: > > << > I can't believe I never heard this until about a week ago, I mean > I have all of Nat Lamps albums (it's not from that) and used to do > a comedy show on radio, fercrissakes!! > I guess this is from their Nat Lamp Radio Hour. It's a guy singing, > strangely enough, but it is a very funny parody of Joni, the only one > I know of. > You can find it on (dark chord)..Napster..look up Joni Mitchell, > look for "Joni Mitchell parody". > RR > >> > There was a Joni parody on "Lemmings", which was the Nat Lamp's Woodstock > parody. Is this that or something different? > > Paul I You're probably thinking of a track called "Her Nibs" ("pull the triggers, niggers") on "Lemmings", which was a parody of Joan Baez. This is a different one. RR ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 05:03:05 -0700 From: "Kate Bennett" Subject: Subject: Joni dines with her sisters Hi, Can I come & help out? I will even wash all the dishes! B Merrill's dinner party Getting back to this day dream of a dinner party (have the flames cooled?), I submit that we should renounce the notion of having as mixed a crowd as possible (leading to cacophony, then flames) and instead put Joni in the context of her sisters, her peers, the other wonderful female singer songwriters of our time, with whom there would be so much in common to chat about. So I say we invite a smaller group: Laura Nyro (back from the spirit world) Joni Rickee Lee J. Kate Bush ******************************************** Kate Bennett featured this month at Taylor Guitars www.taylorguitars.com/artists/awp/indies/ www.katebennett.com www.cdbaby.com/katebennett www.amazon.com ******************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 03:23:31 EDT From: JoniMessages@aol.com Subject: JoniMitchell.com Art Sale Hi All, Jim from JoniMitchell.com here… I don't post on the JMDL much, since it's easy to get as much of me as you can stand elsewhere ;-) I do know quite a few of you, of course. Although there have been some definite bright spots, it's been a tough year and I don't know how I'd have kept the site together without the assistance I've received from many of you. So before I say anything else, please accept my heartfelt thanks for the support you've given Wally and me… I'd better move on before I get soggy. Maybe you already know I've been given the opportunity to have a big-time art sale on JoniMitchell.com (it's certainly big-time to me, anyway); I've decided to let a smaller group have the first crack at it before I open it up to the outside world. I made up a mailing list to announce the sale; maybe you already got a message. Then again, maybe not -- I'm sure I missed quite a few people, so a copy of the e-mail message I sent out is below. I hope we can find loving homes for this artwork! jj P.S. If I've owed you an email forever, sorry, you know how I get… ****************** Hi, Great news! I've been invited to offer two of Joni's works for sale at JoniMitchell.com! As just about everybody knows by now, I'm always chronically behind on my email. So I know this doesn't really count -- I probably still owe you one too. I wanted to make sure you knew about this, though. You're getting this message for one of four reasons… 1) You've participated in a JoniMitchell.com auction in the past; 2) You sent me a message at JoniMitchell.com asking if Joni's art is for sale, putting "Joni's paintings," or "Artwork," or something like that on the subject line; 3) You're a member of the Joni Mitchell Discussion List with whom I've been in contact; 4) I just like you; 5) All or some of the above. I think loyal readers and friends of JoniMitchell.com should have the first chance at these wonderful pictures, so I've set up a web page that will tell you what you need to know (it's not linked to the site at this point). Right now it's just an art sale, but if there are multiple offers I'll open it up to the general readership of the site as an auction later on this month. I'm sure many of us have recently seen one of Joni's oil paintings on sale for $40,000.00, so this artwork isn't as expensive as it first seems! Here's the link that should take you to the Art Sale page: Artwork at JoniMitchell.com (if the link doesn't work, you can get to the sale page by typing -- or pasting -- the following url into your browser: http://www.jonimitchell.com/Art4Sale.html). NOTE: Each painting has a link to it's own special email address for your use if you're interested in purchasing it; there's no need to reply to this email message unless you want me to remove you from the mailing list. I'm very excited about this! Hope you're able to participate. Cheers Jim JoniMitchell.com ****************** ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 08:39:59 -0400 From: "Victor Johnson" Subject: jonifest recovery pt.1 Greetings, It's been great to read all these wonderful posts about Topsfield. I don't really know where to begin as so much transpired these early fall days. Perhaps I'll start with the end of the weekend. It was Tuesday afternnoon, around 1:00 pm or so, and I was sitting on a bench by the Boston harbor, looking into the water, watching ships mostly sitting still. I pulled my guitar, put it into some strange tuning, completely random, and began picking, thinking of the sea, and jonifest, thoughts flying like seagulls, cascading over the water. An English gentleman, walked over and said, nonchalantly, "Joni Mitchell?" I said that I was making it up, and he told me he had thought it sounded like Song to a Seagull. I then proceeded to tell him all about the JMDL and he surmised we were all quite taken by Joni. He said he had followed her up to Don Juan's Reckless Daughter and then lost her around there. He was somewhat familiar with Nick Drake though seemed to have only a vague recollection of him. I have found this to be typical though. Later that evening, I made my way to Harvard Square and attended the open mic at Club Passim, a place where musicians such as Joni and Leonard Cohen played at one time long ago. I felt a very warm presence there as 60 some odd musicians and poets began to filter into the small listening room. The man at the front desk said they simply draw names and everybody gets to play, one song each. If you're selected in the latter part of the evening, it is a test to see if you can hold out that long. Fortunately, I was number 8 or 9. I got up and played my song, Angel, and got a very warm reception. Some of the performers were very young, 16, and some were in their 60's with gray beards. I definately want to return and play there again. I really like the vibe of the whole area. Earlier that day, I had the pleasure of attending the Van Gogh exhibit with Leslie and Steve Mixon. I tried to imagine what Turbulent Indigo would have looked like if Joni had painted her self with straw cowboy hat instead. It was quite something, seeing all these paintings in person. I expected some of them to turn around and look at me. We had the perfect lunch at a little tea house called Rebecca's Cafe. They had every tea imaginable, delicious lobster chowder, scrumptious sandwiches, comfortable chairs and tables with brass edges, light jazz playing in the background, and memories of jonifest floating around in the air, that you could reach with your fingers and pull down and swallow and they tasted so good, so good, so good... Victor...more to follow NP: Eddi Reader-Angels and Electricity ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 10:01:06 EDT From: Siresorrow@aol.com Subject: Re: Joni, Burning Man, Nietszche, the male Holly Near In a message dated 9/7/00 4:41:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time, CarltonCT@aol.com writes: << he saw the sexual act as degrading and as one of the “pleasures of the herd” and believed that part of becoming a super-man, or ubermensch, was to conquer one’s own personal lusts. >> this was a very nice write up of nietszche. the only thing i would add is that i was taught to use the word...'over' instead of 'super' in translation because his concept was to 'rise above the herd' as opposed to being something other than human and in our generation the phrase..super-man is loaded with paradigm. i personally believe joni's infatuation with nietszche is not as hard core as he was. i think she holds some spiritual beliefs but admires his conviction to rise above the mundane. i don't think she has the hardness of heart to be a true nietszche-ite, but i also agree with your suggestion that her duality is constantly changing and there are some things we will just never know. patrick np. rt. walking on a wire ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 10:41:07 EDT From: IVPAUL42@aol.com Subject: Re: Nitszche In a message dated 9/8/00 10:05:49 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Siresorrow@aol.com writes: << i personally believe joni's infatuation with nietszche is not as hard core as he was. >> Speaking of Nietszche , longtime record producer Jack Nitszche (no e?), who worked with many of Joni's contemporaries including Neil Young, died about two weeks ago -- Aug. 25. I have a well-written, detailed and moving obit on him that I received through a Grateful Dead list. If anyone would like to read it, I will forward off-list. Paul I ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2000 11:26:14 -0400 From: B Merrill Subject: Re: Joni dines with her sisters Kate Bennett wrote: >Hi, Can I come & help out? I will even wash all the dishes! You bet! There are 4 empty spaces... Now, speaking as a sister, a female singer-songwriter, were there some crucial topics that I left out? What would you want to ask them? Bruce ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2000 17:33:03 EDT From: JRMCo1@aol.com Subject: New England Jonifest, Pt. 1 Call me twisted if you want, but there’s a subtle, yet distinctive mystical quality about the area around Topsfield, Massachusetts. I sensed it before I went there for Joni Fest, and it was confirmed in emphatic fashion once I arrived. While there I saw a healing using some kind of oil, had extended close encounters with, not one, but two enchanted cats, and felt spirits blow through me while I stood in front of a church built in 1746 in Boston’s North End. I kid you not. Joni-fest itself was a magical musical adventure and love-in every waking second. That was this first time Festgoer’s experience anyways. (Ask Paz and Kakki about the cats if you think I’m loopy.) I could go on forever. But I can’t imagine there is any combination of words that can capture the complexity and beauty of what Ashara made possible, and I was immersed in, for four days with 40 or so truly beautiful people. So, I’ll try not to get too cute with this. And I’ll try to cut to the chase whenever possible. Joni Fest. The moniker seems oddly inadequate to me now. Joni’s music and artistic spirit were a constant and a touchstone, absolutely, but “fest”? A rose is rose I suppose, but this little garden gathering was super-natural. The music was inspired, perpetual and of the highest quality. Hugging was rampant and went unchecked all weekend. Constant surprises and exotic gift giving, wee hour one-on-one soul bearing, balladeering, eyes tearing and some God-fearing. Erstwhile impassioned debate among seemingly rational grown-ups re: cults of personality, free speech and three letters, pronounced “enjaysee” that don’t mean jack squat to anyone else in the world, save 500 some-odd members of a certain Internet discussion list, 40 or so of whom were hunkered down at the time in a spacious, comfortable home in the Massachusetts countryside. Music players and singers around the piano over here… a dozen or so out on the deck at 4:00 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday “nights,” strumming and singing away while soft citronella candle light barely beat back mosquitoes and the black of night. Ashara made it plain: this annual rite of passage is about the people. Inexplicably to me, all the JMDL people I met or reunited with are the finest imaginable. By what magic is this all possible? Ashara. The voices of a million angels cannot express my gratitude to you for all you do for us here, not just during this wondrous weekend, throwing open your doors to the throng of us, but year round. I love this woman dearly, I don’t mind telling you. She had a premonition, she says, that there would be rain this year. Every little thing she does is magic, I tell you! I’ve got to drop some names here, lest I get too vague. First a shout-out to my enduring soul mates and amigos: Kakki and Michael Paz. I don’t know whether to write a book about our Joni Fest adventures or cry a river of joy and sorrow. Parting is the sorrow. With any luck, this post won’t be the book. Their companionship helped make this trip extra special for me. Their enlightened musicianship, sincerity and kindness to me…I cherish every moment of it, you two, but I can’t cry anymore. Let’s all go back, jack, and do it again next year! We’ll turn it ‘round and ‘round… And to have Mary Grace there was a singular pleasure. If you’ve never wrapped your arms around this sweetheart of a woman, you’ve not known one of life’s true spices. And how she can dance! She had my senses tingling with circumstance. We must get together more often out West, MG. It’s always a stone groove when we do! Great to see Patrick again, as I hadn’t seen him since the L.A. stop on Joni’s mini-tour with Dylan and Morrison. He’s in that infamous bed photo on Duane’s bed at the Bel-Air. That was the night that a bunch of us jmdlers were hanging out and smoking cigars with Van Morrison. Patrick is still a jmdl gem. He was sporting a new blond coif that looked to me like it might have been inspired by Eminem, though he vehemently denies it. (smile.) Leslie and Steve, my friends for some time now from our West coast Joni exploits in San Jose and chance meetings at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View and other places around the SF Bay Area. Leslie’s enchanting voice and Steve’s mandolin wizardry are truly something to behold. Steve’s mandolin stylings had the locals toe-tapping and dancing at Atty May’s when he played with Chuck’s band. It was no less than awesome I tell you. You can’t do “Amie” without a mandolin, you know. I have so many great new friends! Secrets and sharing tequila in Ashara’s kitchen at 3:00 a.m. Sat., that’s how my time with Alison began. She’s witty, intelligent, complex, and musically talented. I was enraptured talking to her about Life. Alison doesn’t mince words. We also sang back-up vocals together to Victor’s rendition of the Grateful Dead’s “Franklin’s Tower” at Atty Mays. “Roll away…the dew!” And yes, her eyes are beautiful, like proverbial limpid pools – cold blue and deep. I tried to recruit her to come live in our California, but she seems to be in a New York state of mind at the moment. Good luck with all that, Alison. I can’t wait to see her again. Jimmy is as delightful a fellow as you’d ever hope to meet. We had exchanged emails off list when he we discovered that we were both had encounters with Cybil Sheppard. The man is a virtual Florida sunshine tree. He is joy to talk to and confide in. I can’t do this all at once. I’ll resume soon. End of Part One… - -Julius ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2000 18:45:44 EDT From: JRMCo1@aol.com Subject: Re: New England Jonifest, Pt. 1 (corrected) Sorry for the alphabet soup, gang. I wrote this post in Word then cut and pasted. Didn't work. Here's what I was trying to say: ____________________ Call me twisted if you want, but there's a subtle, yet distinctive mystical quality about the area around Topsfield, Massachusetts. I sensed it before I went there for Joni Fest, and it was confirmed in emphatic fashiononce I arrived. While there I saw a healing using some kind of oil, had extended close encounters with, not one, but two enchanted cats, and felt spirits blow through me while I stood in front of a church built in 1746 in Boston's North End. I kid you not. Joni-fest itself was a magical musical adventure and love-in every waking second. That was this first time Festgoer's experience anyways. (Ask Paz and Kakki about the cats ifyou think I'm loopy.) I could go on forever. But I can't imagine there is any combination of words that can capture the complexity and beauty of what Ashara made possible, and I was immersed in, for four days with 40 or so truly beautiful people. So, I'll try not to get too cute with this. And I'll try to cut to the chase whenever possible. Joni Fest. The moniker seems oddly inadequate to me now. Joni's music and artistic spirit were a constant and a touchstone, absolutely, but"fest"? A rose is rose I suppose, but this little garden gathering was super-natural. The music was inspired, perpetual and of the highest quality. Hugging was rampant and went unchecked all weekend. Constant surprises and exotic gift giving, wee hour one-on-one soul bearing, balladeering, eyes tearing and some God-fearing. Erstwhile impassioned debate among seemingly rational grown-ups re: cults of personality, free speech and three letters, pronounced "enjaysee" that don't mean jack squat to anyone else in the world, save 500 some-odd members of a certain Internet discussion list, 40 or so of whom were hunkered down at the time in a spacious, comfortable home in the Massachusetts countryside. Music players and singers around the piano over here and a dozen or so out on the deck at 4:00 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday "nights" strumming and singing away while soft citronella candle light barely beat back mosquitoes and the black of night. Ashara made it plain: this annual rite of passage is about the people. Inexplicably to me, all the JMDL people I met or reunited with are the finest imaginable. By what magic is this all possible? Ashara. The voices of a million angels cannot express my gratitude to you for all you do for us here, not just during this wondrous weekend, throwing open your doors to the throng of us, but year round. I love this woman dearly, I don't mind telling you. She had a premonition, she says, that there would be rain this year. Every little thing she does is magic, I tell you! I've got to drop some names here, lest I get too vague. First ashout-out to my enduring soul mates and amigos: Kakki and Michael Paz. I don't know whether to write a book about our Joni Fest adventuresor cry a river of joy and sorrow. Parting is the sorrow. With any luck, this post won't be the book. Their companionship helped make this trip extra special for me. Their enlightened musicianship, sincerity and kindnessto me...I cherish every moment of it, you two, but I can't cry anymore. Let's all go back, jack, and do it again next year! We'll turn it round and round... And to have Mary Grace there was a singular pleasure. If you've never wrapped your arms around this sweetheart of a woman, you've not known one of life's true spices. And how she can dance! She had my senses tingling with circumstance. We must get together more often out West, MG. It's always a stone groove when we do! Great to see Patrick again, as I hadn't seen him since the L.A. stop on Joni's mini-tour with Dylan and Morrison. He's in that infamous bed photo on Duane's bed at the Bel-Air. That was the night that a bunch of us jmdlers were hanging out and smoking cigars with Van Morrison. Patrick is still a jmdl gem. He was sporting a new blond coif that looked to me like it might have been inspired by Eminem, though he vehemently denies it. :-) Leslie and Steve, my friends for some time now from our West coast Joni exploits in San Jose and chance meetings at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View and other places around the SF Bay Area. Leslie's enchanting voice and Steve's mandolin wizardry are truly something to behold. Steve's mandolin stylings had the locals toe-tapping and dancing at Atty May's when he played with Chuck's band. It was no less than awesome I tell you. You can't really do "Amie" without a mandolin, you know. I have so many great new friends! Secrets and sharing tequila in Ashara's kitchen at 3:00 a.m. Sat., that's how my time with Alison began. She's witty, intelligent, complex, and musically talented. I was enraptured talking to her about Life. Alison doesn't mince words. We also sang back-up vocals together to Victor's rendition of the Grateful Dead's "Franklin's Tower" at Atty Mays. "Roll away...the dew!" And yes, her eyes are beautiful, like proverbial limpid pools:cold blue and deep. I tried to recruit her to come live in our California, but she seems to be in a New York state of mind at the moment. Good luck with all that, Alison. I can't wait to see her again. Jimmy is as delightful a fellow as you'd ever hope to meet. We had exchanged emails off list when he we discovered that we were both had encounters with Cybil Sheppard. The man is a virtual Florida sunshine tree. He is joy to talk to and confide in. I can't do this all at once. I'll resume soon. End of Part One... - -Julius ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 19:49:46 -0400 From: "Nikki Johnson" Subject: Collected Jonifest thoughts Wow...ok I've been trying to gather my thoughts...it's quite a task for scatterbrains! And leave it to the poet to have no words right? Well of course every time I say that I end up writing a novel so lets see how this goes... I drove from PA on Friday and showed up before Monday much to Bob's surprise! And I walked into a house full of music and spirit! I have to say that I don't think I have ever met so many genuine people, and it was soooo refreshing to me. Mags and Brian were the 1st to greet me along w/ Ashara and made me start to feel relaxed and at home. I had no idea what I was walking into...and no idea how I could somehow make it so I never had to walk away! There was music, music, music! Steve thanks for the mandolin lesson! I know people are dying to hear the D/G song again! I really appreciated that cause you gotta start somewhere, it was such a joy to hear you play! And Leslie...well what can I say that I haven't already. Your performance blew me away you have this power and something in your voice that really touched me. Victor it was great to hear you play and sing. You amazed me with your talent! I kept going..."is there anything he can't play?" Claud you have a beautiful voice and I can't wait to see you again especially since we don't live that far and see you play! I know I will inevitably leave someone out and I AM SORRY!!!! I have fond memories of every person that was there! There was great food. Thanks to those of Ashara's '4' for making it happen. I learned about parsley from Maggie, great talking to you while we were making tabulli(sp?). And to Ashara for her kindness and graciousness and letting a complete stranger crash at her house! A true sweetheart! The airport crew arrived and it was great to see Bob again...the only lister I had met prior to Jonifest. He's something else alright! Such a nice guy. The music continued thru the night and I was just amazed and so happy to be surrounded by it all. And Paz...my kindred spirit...so great to sing and play with you and everyone.... "Sing us a song you're the Pazman..." Saturday we had to pack up and go to the church. I rode with Anne and got a chance to talk to her. What a sweet person I am so glad that she made it and is well:-) Her set of songs was beautiful. Chuck E! Thanks for the equipment and everything you did to help! And playing on all the songs. it was great to hear you and the band at Atty may's the next night. And also Evie...not sure if she is on the list but it was good to meet her too. Jenny after telling me she was not very good got up and did a beautiful set! I got to talk to her and Eric a little and they are very sweet people! Ooohhhh GREAT shrimp! mmmmmmmm....thanks Paz and everyone who helped with that! Oh the song Ashara did was beautiful, and on top of that her encore had me cracking up!!!! (I don't think she knew she was doing an encore...lol) the name drawing song...lol! Amie was a great song the boys did and everyone who got up there I loved hearing you sing or play! John...love the tofu song...and the Dutch song. Wally thank you for the bracelet and also your songs were beautiful. Jimmy! My La Bamba partner(hey Wally what wild verses...lol)! I think that I had to try to keep up with YOU! It was a joy dancing with you! Les...it was great talking to you. you have a great heart and are so sweet. And very encouraging! You and Julius almost had me up on that stage! Well...next year! Did I really just say that? Oh and MG my roomie! I doubt we ever were in the room sleeping more than 1 hour at the same time since you were getting up when I was going to bed...lol! I told you next year bring more geritol! hehe it was great meeting you I had fun talking to you! Patrick another Heart fan great meeting you since we had been emailing! So then after packing back up and cleaning(I am an Amazon ya know...haha) back to playing more music all night:-) Man how I loved that! ok this is part one...part 2 resumes Sun. morning... Love Nikki "Ever since I was a baby girl the one thing I wanted most in this world was to keep my love alive" ~ Heart > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-joni@jmdl.com [mailto:owner-joni@jmdl.com]On Behalf Of > FMYFL@aol.com > Sent: Friday, September 08, 2000 12:32 AM > To: joni@smoe.org > Subject: New England Jonifest > > > As Paz would say "Oh My Gawd", and those would be the exact words > I use to > describe this years Labor Day fest. Seeing the good friends I met in New > Orleans, and making so many wonderful new ones here made it a > very special > weekend indeed. > > "At Last", after corresponding with her for so long, I finally > got to meet > Ashara! It was not surprising to find that she is as warm, gracious and > enthusiastic as I had expected. From the moment when she picked > me up at my > hotel and I received my first incredible hug, I knew that I had > met a friend > for life. No doubt the long line of cars that was waiting for us to pull > away must have thought that I had just returned home from the war to my > loving bride. > > This weekend held so many special moments: there was music, food, music, > drinking, music, talking, music, laughing, music, hugging, music, > and LOVE. > Did I mention there was music? > > I know I'll probably leave some of my favorite moments out of > this post, but > there were just too many to possibly mention. Besides Ashara, I > want to thank > three other JMDLer's who made this event possible. It was my first time > meeting Maggie, Heather, and ChuckE. I can see why Ashara won't > have another > Jonifest unless she has your help. The food, decorations, and > stage setup > were incredible, and you wonderful people made it all happen. Sal, even > though you're not on the list, I consider you an honorary member. > Every time > I saw you, you were cleaning, restocking, and making sure > everyone was taken > care of. You and Ashara are such a perfect couple and I thank > you for making > us feel at home. > > It was just like homecoming seeing the warm and wonderful people > I had met in > New Orleans: > > *Steve and Leslie Mixon, you are the sweetest and most musical > couple I've > ever met, and it was so good to see you both again. > *Michael, I feel like I've known you all my life. You have such > a gift for > music only to be matched by your kindness and sense of humor. I > thank you > for allowing a nonmusical person like me to help sing background > vocals on > "Song for Sharon" (even though I think my microphone was turned > off). You do > give one hell of a butch hug :~) > *Kakki (or should I say Kaahhki), your wonderful stories, your > beauty, and > your great voice kept me company the entire weekend. > *Victor, you truly are the music man! I don't think there is > anyone alive > that loves to share music like you do. I'm sure if we had had a musical > instrument only found in Botswana, you would be able to play it. > *Bob Muller, only you can make me laugh so hard that my sides ache. Your > kindness and charisma from your daily emails is just a fraction > of what you > are like in person. > *John, although you may bring wonderful chocolates and cigars from the > Netherlands, the most important thing you bring is your heart. > What a kind > gentle man you are! It was so wonderful to hear you sing on stage > this year. > One fond memory I have is on Ashara's deck with about a dozen > people singing > in the cool Topsfield air. You and I both had our arms around > Claudia trying > to keep her warm. What a sense of togetherness! > *Claud, seeing you again was so special. You have the beauty > and voice of > an angel. I could listen to you sing and play guitar all night > long. Joni > herself would be envious to hear you sing "Conversation". I am so > blessed to > know you. > *Catgirl, although you weren't there very long, it was still > great to see > you again and it was great to hear You, Leslie and Kakki singing again. > *Les, there would be no JMDL if it wasn't for all your hard > work. It was so > good to see your warm smile and to party with you again. You're the best! > > As for the people I met for the first time, it was just as > special as seeing > my old friends. I just wish I could have spent more time with > each and every > one of you. I did manage to get some quality time with some of you: > > *Bob Murphy, what can I say? I had no choice but to get to know > you. Even > though our hotel was only 2 miles from Ashara's, we managed to > get lost and > it took over an hour to get back. I really enjoyed our talks about life, > Joni, and the JMDL (I think we got lost 3 or 4 times, but it was > fun seeing > all the other U.S states trying to find our way back :~) Thanks > for all of > the rides and "Wendy's". You are a wonderful man, and I'm so > glad I got to > know you! > *MG, from the first time we met, I said to myself "This is one > FUN FUN FUN > girl". You cracked me up the entire weekend, and your wit is only > surpassed > by your sweetness and loving warmth. > *WallyK (my baby Walter), we finally meet after many, many > emails. I always > knew you were witty, intelligent, and kind. Now I know that you > are also a > great vocalist, and a very handsome man too! I was so proud > listening to you > sing your heart out in the church. You put so much soul into your > singing. I > can't wait to go to a Buenos Aires Joni Fest! > *Jody, with those beautiful eyes, I had so much fun getting to > know you. I > even had a great time helping you set up your tent (the butchest > thing I've > done in years). > *Nikki, I just want to thank you for dancing all the cha cha > music with an > old fart like me. You're such a sweetie! > *Julius, that smile you have! I don't think I ever saw it leave > your face. > I loved listening to your brilliant harmonies, and singing "Just My > Imagination" with you in Ashara's kitchen. > *Brian, I've been reading your posts since I've been a member of > the JMDL, > and you are as wonderful as I had imagined. Thanks for sharing > some magical > moments both at the church and at Ashara's. What a warm and > passionate man > you are. > *Mags, since your first email to me on April 2nd when we shared > our love for > "Court and Spark", I knew you were a special person. You are the > most loving > person I've ever met, and I can still feel the everlasting hugs > you gave me > the entire weekend. Thank you for being such a beautiful caring person. > *Alison, I'm not sure if New York is ready for you yet, but I > sure am. You > are a hoot! As the night turned to early morning, your voice got > sexier and > sexier. I'm still jealous that you pinched Muller's butt and not mine :~) > > I also want to thank Marcel, Evian, and Marian for calling > Ashara's house. It > was so good talking to each of you. (and thanks for your wonderful new CD > Marcel) > > I must tell everyone who has not attended a Joni-fest, don't > think about it, > Just do it! Make your plans now, and get ready to be with the > best group of > people in the world. > > Thanks again Ashara! You're the greatest. This was a weekend I'll never > forget. > > Much Love, > Jimmy > ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 20:03:05 -0400 From: "Nikki Johnson" Subject: part 2 ok...well Sunday morning I was getting ready to leave cause I was supposed to go meet another friend about 1 1/2 hours away. So I was gonna miss out on the festivities at Atty May's :-( Everyone was trying to get me to go but I couldn't cause it wasn't the right thing to do. So I said my goodbye's and left...feeling so happy after such a wonderful experience but wishing I didn't have to go. Everyone there touched me in a special way. So I got to my friend's house and she was like well...do you wanna go? And she said I think it'll be fun so I got to drive all the way back to Atty may's and I was so excited the whole time! I walked in and it was so good to be greeted with smiling faces:-) I was so happy to be back! I had a great time dancin with my dance partners...Bob, Julius, John, MG, and Paz and May! Alison I forgot to say that it was great to meet you and thanks also for the vote of confidence...next year we will both be up on that stage and have a set right? And John Van Tiel who wanted to adopt me is just a great lovable guy! He was later told by Paz that he had the papers so John could only have weekend visitation rights...lol...which he had to share with Julius. It was great sitting on the beach later with kakki, Julius and Paz. You guys are so special to me and I so enjoyed that time we spent together later! I just wish there was more of it to spend with each one of you! So then I had to leave again. I was so thankful my friend came back to y'all with me cause it was so great at may's...bar dancing, more great singing, special times:-) May is so sweet and has a great place there. Well I guess that is all for now...I keno there is so much more I would like to say but I dunno how and I love everyone I met there! I never felt out of place and I enjoyed my time there so much! Love Nikki "Ever since I was a baby girl the one thing I wanted most in this world was to keep my love alive" ~ Heart > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-joni@jmdl.com [mailto:owner-joni@jmdl.com]On Behalf Of > FMYFL@aol.com > Sent: Friday, September 08, 2000 12:32 AM > To: joni@smoe.org > Subject: New England Jonifest > > > As Paz would say "Oh My Gawd", and those would be the exact words > I use to > describe this years Labor Day fest. Seeing the good friends I met in New > Orleans, and making so many wonderful new ones here made it a > very special > weekend indeed. > > "At Last", after corresponding with her for so long, I finally > got to meet > Ashara! It was not surprising to find that she is as warm, gracious and > enthusiastic as I had expected. From the moment when she picked > me up at my > hotel and I received my first incredible hug, I knew that I had > met a friend > for life. No doubt the long line of cars that was waiting for us to pull > away must have thought that I had just returned home from the war to my > loving bride. > > This weekend held so many special moments: there was music, food, music, > drinking, music, talking, music, laughing, music, hugging, music, > and LOVE. > Did I mention there was music? > > I know I'll probably leave some of my favorite moments out of > this post, but > there were just too many to possibly mention. Besides Ashara, I > want to thank > three other JMDLer's who made this event possible. It was my first time > meeting Maggie, Heather, and ChuckE. I can see why Ashara won't > have another > Jonifest unless she has your help. The food, decorations, and > stage setup > were incredible, and you wonderful people made it all happen. Sal, even > though you're not on the list, I consider you an honorary member. > Every time > I saw you, you were cleaning, restocking, and making sure > everyone was taken > care of. You and Ashara are such a perfect couple and I thank > you for making > us feel at home. > > It was just like homecoming seeing the warm and wonderful people > I had met in > New Orleans: > > *Steve and Leslie Mixon, you are the sweetest and most musical > couple I've > ever met, and it was so good to see you both again. > *Michael, I feel like I've known you all my life. You have such > a gift for > music only to be matched by your kindness and sense of humor. I > thank you > for allowing a nonmusical person like me to help sing background > vocals on > "Song for Sharon" (even though I think my microphone was turned > off). You do > give one hell of a butch hug :~) > *Kakki (or should I say Kaahhki), your wonderful stories, your > beauty, and > your great voice kept me company the entire weekend. > *Victor, you truly are the music man! I don't think there is > anyone alive > that loves to share music like you do. I'm sure if we had had a musical > instrument only found in Botswana, you would be able to play it. > *Bob Muller, only you can make me laugh so hard that my sides ache. Your > kindness and charisma from your daily emails is just a fraction > of what you > are like in person. > *John, although you may bring wonderful chocolates and cigars from the > Netherlands, the most important thing you bring is your heart. > What a kind > gentle man you are! It was so wonderful to hear you sing on stage > this year. > One fond memory I have is on Ashara's deck with about a dozen > people singing > in the cool Topsfield air. You and I both had our arms around > Claudia trying > to keep her warm. What a sense of togetherness! > *Claud, seeing you again was so special. You have the beauty > and voice of > an angel. I could listen to you sing and play guitar all night > long. Joni > herself would be envious to hear you sing "Conversation". I am so > blessed to > know you. > *Catgirl, although you weren't there very long, it was still > great to see > you again and it was great to hear You, Leslie and Kakki singing again. > *Les, there would be no JMDL if it wasn't for all your hard > work. It was so > good to see your warm smile and to party with you again. You're the best! > > As for the people I met for the first time, it was just as > special as seeing > my old friends. I just wish I could have spent more time with > each and every > one of you. I did manage to get some quality time with some of you: > > *Bob Murphy, what can I say? I had no choice but to get to know > you. Even > though our hotel was only 2 miles from Ashara's, we managed to > get lost and > it took over an hour to get back. I really enjoyed our talks about life, > Joni, and the JMDL (I think we got lost 3 or 4 times, but it was > fun seeing > all the other U.S states trying to find our way back :~) Thanks > for all of > the rides and "Wendy's". You are a wonderful man, and I'm so > glad I got to > know you! > *MG, from the first time we met, I said to myself "This is one > FUN FUN FUN > girl". You cracked me up the entire weekend, and your wit is only > surpassed > by your sweetness and loving warmth. > *WallyK (my baby Walter), we finally meet after many, many > emails. I always > knew you were witty, intelligent, and kind. Now I know that you > are also a > great vocalist, and a very handsome man too! I was so proud > listening to you > sing your heart out in the church. You put so much soul into your > singing. I > can't wait to go to a Buenos Aires Joni Fest! > *Jody, with those beautiful eyes, I had so much fun getting to > know you. I > even had a great time helping you set up your tent (the butchest > thing I've > done in years). > *Nikki, I just want to thank you for dancing all the cha cha > music with an > old fart like me. You're such a sweetie! > *Julius, that smile you have! I don't think I ever saw it leave > your face. > I loved listening to your brilliant harmonies, and singing "Just My > Imagination" with you in Ashara's kitchen. > *Brian, I've been reading your posts since I've been a member of > the JMDL, > and you are as wonderful as I had imagined. Thanks for sharing > some magical > moments both at the church and at Ashara's. What a warm and > passionate man > you are. > *Mags, since your first email to me on April 2nd when we shared > our love for > "Court and Spark", I knew you were a special person. You are the > most loving > person I've ever met, and I can still feel the everlasting hugs > you gave me > the entire weekend. Thank you for being such a beautiful caring person. > *Alison, I'm not sure if New York is ready for you yet, but I > sure am. You > are a hoot! As the night turned to early morning, your voice got > sexier and > sexier. I'm still jealous that you pinched Muller's butt and not mine :~) > > I also want to thank Marcel, Evian, and Marian for calling > Ashara's house. It > was so good talking to each of you. (and thanks for your wonderful new CD > Marcel) > > I must tell everyone who has not attended a Joni-fest, don't > think about it, > Just do it! Make your plans now, and get ready to be with the > best group of > people in the world. > > Thanks again Ashara! You're the greatest. This was a weekend I'll never > forget. > > Much Love, > Jimmy > ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 20:32:42 -0400 From: "Marilyn Huggins" Subject: Thoughts on Jonifest I read with interest other people's impressions of my first Jonifest last Saturday. People were really friendly & actively sought me out which was nice. I'm been a fan of Joni's for 30-something years now & it was fun to talk to other people who could really relate to that!! It doesn't happen too often. Due to her influence, I've taken up guitar, dulcimer (my father made me one from a kit!) & mandolin at different times in my life. She also has had a tremendous role in my singing (of course, I have to sing along with every song on her records!). I would have to say that I'm a better singer than musician (not much on practicing!). The singers & players at Jonifest are a very talented group, just wish they had played more of her music while I was there! Marilyn ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2000 #361 ********************************* ------- Post messages to the list at ------- Siquomb, isn't she?